Northern Lights
by transit-of-v3nus
Summary: Teal and Jared have had a rocky road, and things are still torrential. Can they fix themselves in time? This features Jared Leto, Shannon Leto, and Tomo Miličević of 30 Seconds to Mars. It is purely a work of fiction, and the author claims no connections to any of the aforementioned individuals or the band, whatsoever.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fanfic in a long time. I plan on making it a progressive one. I encourage constructful criticism, by all means. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and let me know what you think! If you have any suggestions for anything, I am more than open to hear those as well.**

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Teal Connors fiddled with the ring on her left ring finger. Over and over again, in circles she rotated it, more out of habit than anything else. The gold band held a single inlaid diamond, and was something she didn't usually talk about, even when it was addressed. Finally, she stopped and dropped her hand onto the portfolio that rested in her lap. A door opened, and a pair of sneakers came into view, making her lift her head. " Miss Connors? We're ready for you now." Brandt Paulson, a recording manager said. Not someone you'd take for a manager, since he was wearing casual clothes and completely laid back. However, that's why she liked him. He wasn't one of those stuffy guys that tried to shove his ideas on you. Rising to her feet, she tugged at the hem of her black shirt and glanced at the rest of her own attire. Jeans, and a pair of black ankle boots. She was comfortable, and that's what mattered the most to her. With a deep breath, she smiled, tucking a strand of silky black hair behind her ear and followed him into the conference room. The client in question was a new younger female, blonde, with an incredible voice. She could belt out like no tomorrow. " Ariane." Teal smiled warmly, offering her hand as the girl stood. The blonde nearly beamed and bounced out of her seat, grabbing the hand that Teal offered, pulling her into a hug over the table. "It's so great to have you both here!" She practically squealed in Teal's ear. That brought about a blank look over the blonde's shoulder, out the windows overlooking the city. "Both?" She mouthed. Ariane pulled back as Brandt spoke again. " Not many young women are so lucky to have both you and Jared working with them." Teal froze, her back stiffening as her head slowly turned and blue eyes clashed with another pair. Charming. She forced a smile, after running her tongue awkwardly across her lower lip." Mr. Leto ."

The entire room was silent, so silent in fact, that she swore they could hear her heart slamming in her chest. Jared smiled at her, and indicated to the seat next to him, across from Ariane. " Teal." No formalities there. She took the utterly ridiculous moment to sit in the offered seat, with a smile at Ariane again. Brandt taking his own seat, but the moment he did, his secretary knocked on the door. "Excuse me a second. Ariane, there's a refrigerator in the staff room if you wanted a new bottle of water before we begin." Brandt said, as he slipped out, and the blonde quickly followed behind him. Teal stared out the windows, and tried not to look to her right, but it didn't take much before her gaze crawled the length of the table between them, over his clasped hands, up his arms, shoulders and landed on his face. She blinked slowly, just once at his expression. " You're wearing your ring." He said, quietly. She canted her head slightly and gave him an exasperated look. " You haven't signed the papers." She replied. His teeth clicked and she could tell it annoyed him. " Because I'm not going to." He replied, sharply. As Ariane stepped back into the room, she lifted her hand and concentrated on her papers as she rubbed her temple with her index finger. "Miss Connors, I am so glad you were willing to write some material for me. It must be so tiring, what with the baby coming. How far along are you now?" Ariane chirped. Teal deflated in her seat a little. She tried to wear the best outfits to hide her current situation, but at seven months, it was hard not to tell. A smile curved her lips. " Seven months." She replied. "Beautifully so." Jared commented, and Ariane nodded in agreement. "Do you know what you're having?" Ariane asked, leaning on her elbows on the table. Teal's mouth opened, but it was Jared that answered. "A boy." Her head turned sharply to look at him. He smiled at her. " Am I right? You know what they say, carrying low…." He gestured, idly. If there had ever been a moment she wanted to punch him for underhanded arrogance, it was right then. Instead, she clasped her hands tightly together and gave him a thin-lipped smile. "You're actually right, ." A slow exhale before she glanced once more to Ariane. " A boy, and I'm hoping very much that he is nothing like his father." She said, smoothly, and was answered with the pleasing hiss of angry air escaping Jared's lips.

The rest of the meeting went amusingly well. Tensions easing when Brandt stepped back into the room. It was at least three hours before they wrapped up for the day, with only two songs actually agreed upon, and one was hers, and one was written by Jared. It was going to be a long process. "Tomorrow then, eight AM, sharp?" Brandt asked as Teal stood and gathered her things. "Works for me." She said, as Jared and Ariana nodded in agreement. She finishing shuffling papers into her portfolio before she headed for the elevators. Just as she finally managed to catch one, and slid inside, a hand stopped the door from closing. Shit. Jared slipped in next to her and pushed the button to close the door. "There was another elevator." She stared at the doors, and stated. "I wanted this one." He replied. She took a deep breath and turned to say something rude, when the sharp wedge into her ribcage made her gasp for air, instead. "Ugh." She managed to get out, guiding her fingertips to her ribs and pushing at the foot that was making her uncomfortable. Jared smiled, and reached out, his hand sliding over her fingertips. Teal snarled and wrenched her hand out, shoving at his. " Don't. Spare us both pretending that you give a damn." As if on cue, the elevator halted and the doors slid open. Teal took her opportunity to escape her estranged husband. " Remember, it couldn't possibly be yours." Her parting shot left him staring after her as she headed across the lobby.


	2. Chapter 2

_This is the second chapter of Northern Lights, a bit smaller than I intended, but it does have a purpose. Hope you are enjoying, and feel free to leave me feedback!_

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Teal unlocked her apartment door, and pushed it closed behind her, only to have it stop, and a weird 'thud' made as it bounced off something. She nearly dropped the bag of groceries in her arms as she turned. Another hand, reached out, and grabbed the bag, scooping it up and sliding past her, as she sank against the hall closet door, and caught her breath. "You okay?" Stalks of celery held up in one hand, and Shannon peeked through them at her. " I'm fine. You just scared me." She replied, pushing the door closed. Shannon set aside the celery and reached out to help her take the light wrap sweater off. She shook her head. " I could get that, I'm pregnant, not dead." She laughed. " Yeah, but…" He got distracted from whatever point he was about to make. " Oreos? You don't need these. Jared would have a fit." She heard the thud of them going into the trash can. " As I was saying, I can help you, that is my nephew." He pointed out, peering through the rest of her groceries before turning to the 'fridge. " Yes, thank you for telling him about the sonogram results." She settled onto the couch. The refrigerator door closed and Shannon peered around the door frame. " I didn't."

There were a few moments of silence before Teal's head slowly turned so that she could look at her brother-in-law. "If you didn't tell him…" Shannon walked further into the room and sat in the lounge chair. " He's your husband, he is the baby's father - he's got connections. You can't possibly think that he was going to let you shut him out of this completely." He replied. She had to admit it was probably the most viable explanation. " I didn't shut him out and you know it, he shut himself out." She replied, standing up and moving to stand in front of one of the large picture windows at the front of the high-rise apartment building. Teal could hear Shannon sigh. " You know, I'm the last person that should be defending him right now, but he made a mistake, and he knows it. This whole fuggin thing is just ridiculous, Teal. The divorce. The paternity argument. All of it." Shannon shoved out of his chair and came closer to her. Teal continued to stare out the window. " He accused us. We'd never given him reason. There was nothing. Don't…. Tell me that it's ridiculous, Shannon. If he loved me he would have trusted me the million times I told him that the pregnancy was an accident from the tour -with him. And not based off some stupid picture that was taken of you and I stepping out of a suite, that wasn't how it looked at all!" She turned and pushed past him then. " He was exhausted from the tour. He wasn't thinking straight, Teal." Shannon's words were exasperated in tone. She closed her eyes, and shook her head. " Well, some things have consequences, don't they, Shannon?" She replied, though it gave her a painful tug in her heart. Shannon leaned close and pressed a kiss to her temple, sensing that this conversation was pretty much closed there. " Call me if you need anything." He said, quietly, heading for the door, and a few moments later, the door clicked shut and she was once more left alone with her thoughts.

Teal leaned hard into the corner of the window, and folded over her legs, as hard of a position it was to hold. It was hard to breathe, staring down at that floor. Knowing that Jared had been so desperate to know something, anything - despite his mistakes, that he used his status to find out that he was going to be a father to a little boy. That he had been watching over her. The room spun, and she slid down the wall and sank to the floor, curling her knees up to her profound stomach. Shaking her head repeatedly because she couldn't believe he cared that much. After all that had been said, shouldn't he be gone by now? Checking up on her, not signing the divorce papers…he was either determined to have his way, or he knew he was wrong. She couldn't tell which it was, and she wasn't so sure she was comfortable with the knowledge. Fingers slipped up her face to fist into her locks of hair, and she pulled a bit in frustration. Every iota of her wanted to break down and sob for hours, for all the things she'd said, that he'd said, from all those horrific moments. Nothing could take them back, no tears would wash them away. When her head lifted again, her cheeks were clear, and her countenance was a mask of pure resolve.


End file.
